Swordquest: Realworld - Softcover

LIBRARY JOURNAL -- Sims and Bowers (X-Men'92) embrace 1980s nostalgia in this metafantasy centered on Atari's SwordQuest video game series. The actual games included a contest featuring a jeweled sword as a prize. Unfortunately, the collapse of the home console market meant that contest was never completed. Here, terminally ill Peter Case wants to track down the sword before he dies. Enlisting the aid of his childhood friends, Peter plans a heist at the Retro Gaming Expo. This gets complicated when it's revealed that the backstory of the game series is true and an evil wizard and his minions will do everything they can to thwart Peter and his pals. Artist Ghostwriter X (Down Set Fight) does a good job of balancing real-world and fantasy segments, using classic video game imagery and hiding clues in panels like the comics packaged with the original games. There is more talk than action, though, with the emphasis on rekindling friendships.
Verdict While smaller in scope, SwordQuest hits similar points as Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, making it a good read-alike option. Overall, this is more serious than readers seeking an Atari game-based comic might expect.-Terry Bosky, Madison, WI


LIBRARY JOURNAL -- Sims and Bowers (X-Men'92) embrace 1980s nostalgia in this metafantasy centered on Atari's SwordQuest video game series. The actual games included a contest featuring a jeweled sword as a prize. Unfortunately, the collapse of the home console market meant that contest was never completed. Here, terminally ill Peter Case wants to track down the sword before he dies. Enlisting the aid of his childhood friends, Peter plans a heist at the Retro Gaming Expo. This gets complicated when it's revealed that the backstory of the game series is true and an evil wizard and his minions will do everything they can to thwart Peter and his pals. Artist Ghostwriter X (Down Set Fight) does a good job of balancing real-world and fantasy segments, using classic video game imagery and hiding clues in panels like the comics packaged with the original games. There is more talk than action, though, with the emphasis on rekindling friendships.
Verdict While smaller in scope, SwordQuest hits similar points as Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, making it a good read-alike option. Overall, this is more serious than readers seeking an Atari game-based comic might expect.-Terry Bosky, Madison, WI